Introduction to Linguistics (LNG100)

The course introduces students to the scientific discovery of language. Students recognize the basic components of human language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics. Based on cross-linguistic data, students recognize common patterns and variation in languages and build the set of tools that are necessary for the construction of a theory of human language. The ultimate goal is to achieve a better analysis and understanding of language as an integral part of human cognition and the brain.

Credit Hours :
3

Language, Society & Culture (LNG110)

This course focuses on the essential connections between language, society and culture, and the way in which language is used in different social and cultural contexts. The effects of regional variation, social variation, ethnicity, gender, age, style, register, and the status of the speaker's language on language use will be discussed and extensively illustrated during the course. In addition, topics such as pidgins and creoles, diglossia, lingua francas, bilingualism and language planning will be introduced.

Credit Hours :
3

Linguistic Principles of English Grammar (LNG120)

This course provides an in-depth analysis of selected topics which are central to the linguistic study of English grammar, and involves both structural description and functional analysis. The aims of the course are to provide.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Phonetics (LNG220)

This course introduces the study of speech sounds, including the theoretical foundations of phonetic theory, the mechanisms of human speech production, and the International Phonetic Alphabet. Students are trained to detect and transcribe individual sounds and supra-segmental properties such as stress, rhythm and intonation. Additionally, they study the basics of acoustic analysis of human speech sounds using specialized equipment. Practical application of these skills includes transcription and analysis of the students' own speech or any Arabic sample.

Credit Hours :
3

Phonology I (LNG231)

This course is concerned with the investigation of sound patterns. Students are exposed to the basic principles of phonological analysis, including phonological alternations, rules and derivations. The main theoretical framework adopted in the course is that of generative phonology, which applies a rule-based system to the investigation of phonological processes. Based on cross-linguistic data students learn to identify phonological patterns and formally express them using formal phonological rules.

Credit Hours :
3

Syntax I (LNG241)

This course introduces syntactic analysis within the generativist tradition. Students become familiar with the formal terminology used in syntactic work and apply this knowledge in the study of cross-linguistic data. The course covers topics on the position of syntax within cognitive science, categories and features, syntactic, binding theory and structural relations, X-Bar theory and how the lexicon constraints the application of syntactic rules. Assignments and discussions focus on several different languages in addition to English.

Credit Hours :
3

Morphology (LNG250)

This course introduces students to the basic concepts in morphological theory and the necessary tools in conducting morphological analysis. While some emphasis will be on Arabic nonlinear morphology, morphological patterns from various languages from around the world will be studied. Concepts such as root, stem, morpheme, allomorph, derivation, inflection, word syntax, and morphological productivity are covered. The interface between morphology and other levels of analysis, such as phonology, syntax, and semantics is also discussed.

Credit Hours :
3

Linguistic Structure of English (LNG280)

This course examines basic concepts in morphological theory and the necessary tools in conducting morphological analysis. While some emphasis will be on Arabic nonlinear morphology, morphological patterns from various languages from around the world will be studied. Concepts such as root, stem, morpheme, allomorph, derivation, inflection, word syntax, and morphological productivity are covered. The interface between morphology and other levels of analysis, such as phonology, syntax, and semantics is also discussed.

Credit Hours :
3

Linguistic Structure of Arabic (LNG290)

This course studies the linguistic properties of Emirati Arabic including (i) the sound inventory of the dialect from an articulatory point of view; (ii) phonological processes that sounds in the dialect undergo; (iii) the morphological structure of the language including non-linear morphological processes characteristic of Semitic languages; inflectional and derivational processes; borrowing; and so on; and finally (iv) the syntax of Emirati Arabic focusing on language specific properties, word order and key phrase structure rules.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Language & Computer Technology (LNG321)

In this course, we look at the use of computers for everyday language tasks (e.g. spelling, computer-assisted language learning, machine translation). While there is no programming in this course, students investigate these systems in hands-on sessions. We also cover current social and ethical issues, as well as more philosophical ones about consciousness and machine intelligence.

Credit Hours :
3

Introduction to Phonology & Morphology (LNG330)

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Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Phonology II (LNG331)

This course covers advanced topics in generative phonology. The focus will be on phonological representations and their role in phonological analysis. Topics to be covered include complex phonological alternations, phonological rules and rule ordering, distinctive feature theory, auto-segmental phonology, syllable theory, feature geometry, and prosodic morphology. Students may be asked to write a short phonological sketch of a language of their choice.

Credit Hours :
3

Syntax ll (LNG341)

This course builds on the material covered in Introduction to Syntax (LNG 241) and provides a more sophisticated treatment of modern approaches to the study of syntax in its narrow sense, as well as the interface between syntax and other linguistic components such as phonology, morphology, semantics and information structure. Additional advanced topics that are discussed include raising and control structures, and expanded verb phrases.

Credit Hours :
3

Semantics (LNG342)

This course examines meaning from a variety of perspectives focusing on how it is encoded in words and sentences and how native speakers interpret language. It deals with the relation between language and thought; with the relations between morphemes in the word and words in a sentence (compositionality); and with the relations between words in the lexicon (synonymy, hyponymy, etc.). In addition, students are exposed to various aspects of pragmatics - the function of meaning in a communicative setting.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Contrastive Linguistics (LNG362)

The course is an introduction to the contrastive study of languages with respect to their phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, stylistic, and socio-linguistic systems. Special emphasis is given to a foreign accent and accent reduction strategies and techniques as well as transfer and interference from the mother tongue. The course also discusses the importance of error analysis in language teaching and translation. The student is encouraged to bring examples from everyday life to class.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Historical Linguistics (LNG370)

Languages change over time. The English or the Arabic we speak today is very different from the English or Arabic spoken 1000 years ago. Some of the questions that will be addressed in this course include: Why do languages change? How do languages change? Which aspects of a language change? What do we know about older stages of languages? Are there regular patterns underlying change?

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Arabic Syntax (LNG390)

This course introduces students to the basic concepts used in the description of the syntactic structure of Arabic. The content of the course will cover such issues as constituent structure and how it can be formally represented, embedding and secondary sentences such as sentential complements and relative clauses, dependency relations, transformations, including movement operations, passivization and other grammatical function changing operations.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Sociolinguistics (LNG410)

This course focuses on the connections between language, culture and society, the way language is used in social contexts and how it reflects the culture of the speech community. Topics covered include the effects of regional variation, social variation, ethnicity, culture, gender, occupation, age, style, register, and the status of the speaker's language on language use. In addition, topics such as national identity as symbolized by language, pidgins and creoles, diglossia, lingua franca, bilingualism, language planning will be discussed.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Current Topics in Language Variation & Change (LNG415)

This course explores a range of topics in language variation and change. On a rotational basis, members of faculty suggest and teach topics related to their current work and/or research interests. Students are required to read literature that reports on research in which linguistic theories and models are being employed to accurately describe and explain patterns observed in various natural languages. Assessment includes assignments and tests, as well as a writing component based on the students’ individual research projects.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Computational Linguistics (LNG420)

This course is an introduction to computational linguistics. It assumes some familiarity with linguistics concepts but no programming is required. It covers topics on automata and finite-state machines and transducers, context-free models of syntax, parsing, and semantic interpretation; corpus-based research including probabilistic methods; and some selection of application areas from among such topics as information retrieval or machine translation. Some of the concepts taught in class will be reinforced in practice by hands-on programming assignments using Prolog.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Psycholinguistics (LNG450)

The first part of the course emphasizes how theories in linguistics inform processing models, and how processing phenomena inform linguistic theories in terms of the architecture of a speaker's internal grammar. The second part presents child language data from various languages and focuses on an examination of universals of language development and structure. Psycholinguistic research in Arabic is rather scarce, and training students in this area will encourage them to pursue their graduate studies in it.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Practicum-TA- (LNG455)

Practicum is a supervised experience in which students learn professional skills of assessing people with Language aphasia and communicative disorders in real life situations. This practicum experience is intended to provide students with the necessary opportunities to apply and expand on the information learned in academic courses.

Credit Hours :
3

Linguistic Theory and Aphasia (LNG460)

This course examines the interaction between linguistics and the study (description, diagnosis and treatment) of aphasia. The study of aphasic phenomena (linguistic manifestations of language breakdown) allows linguists to refine their theoretical models of linguistic knowledge, and to choose between competing theories of such knowledge that would otherwise be regarded as mere notational variants. Techniques of testing aphasic patients and collecting and analyzing aphasic speech error types will also be covered.

Credit Hours :
3

Women and Language (LNG465)

This course is offered within the minor of ""Women Studies"". It provides students with insights into the role of language in defining people relative to each other. Students are encouraged to look critically at contexts they have been involved in on a regular basis and investigate how language reflects the changing roles of women and men in contemporary society. They further explore how language reveals and perpetuates attitudes and the kinds of roles language plays in empowerment and marginalization.

Credit Hours :
3

Current Topics in Arabic Linguistics (LNG470)

This course explores a range of current topics in Arabic Linguistics. On a rotational basis, members of faculty suggest and teach topics related to their current work and/or research interests. Students are required to read literature that reports on research in which linguistic theories and models are being employed to accurately describe and explain patterns observed in various Arabic dialects. Assessment includes assignments and tests, as well as a writing component based on the students’ individual research projects.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Current Topics in Language Rept Meaning & Mind (LNG475)

This course explores current topics in representation, meaning and mind. On a rotational basis, members of faculty suggest and teach topics related to their current work and/or research interests. Students are required to read literature that reports on research in which linguistic theories and models are being employed to accurately describe and explain patterns observed in various natural languages. Assessment includes assignments and tests, as well as a writing component based on the students’ individual research projects.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Field Methods in Linguistics (LNG480)

The course investigates the grammatical properties of a lesser-studied language through consultation with a native speaker, including descriptions of its sound system, phonology, morphology and syntax. Students are introduced to the basic tools for conducting linguistic fieldwork, including ethical issues, use of equipment and software, data elicitation techniques and database construction. They hold class, group, and individual sessions with a language consultant, working towards developing a description of a particular phenomenon within a chosen grammatical component of the target language..

Credit Hours :
3

Neuroscience of Arabic (LNG485)

This course examines the imaging and behavioural research methods used in the study of the neuroscience of language with emphasis on Arabic. It investigates language processing and representation by the brain, how to design a behavioural experiment and the techniques used, how to design imaging experiments, and when to use EEG/MEG or fMRI and TMS. The course introduces these techniques in the context of Arabic offering insights into neurocognitive issues that cannot be studied in Indo-European languages.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Senior Capstone (LNG490)

This course cultivates student skills in writing and presenting orally original research in a chosen field of linguistics. The course is offered in the form of lectures and student presentation/round-table discussions. Lectures discuss linguistic abstracts, book and journal reviews, and the stages of completing an original research paper. Particular attention is paid to the methodology, analysis, and argumentation of selected publications. Discussions strengthen the presentation and debate skills of the students.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Introduction to English Grammar (TSL100)

This course explores the relationship between literature and translation and examined some of the practical aspects of translation and the theoretical questions to which it gives rise. Quine's 'Theory of Indeterminacy of Translation' is discussed and the notion of 'lost in meaning' is analyzed. Translations of literary works and sample the diverse field of translation theory are also explored.

Credit Hours :
3

Introduction to Applied Linguistics (TSL110)

This course acquaints students with the terminology and tools for analyzing English grammar. The course aims to improve students' accuracy in their written English and to help them to be better teachers of grammar. Teaching involves lectures plus in-class exercises and workshops where students are presented with (textbook) exercises to complete in pairs and small groups with instructor assistance. Written assignments will also be used to help learners improve their grammar in authentic writing environments.

Credit Hours :
3

English Phonetics (TSL210)

Applied linguistics is the theoretical and empirical investigation of real world problems in which language is a central issue, and it draws upon research in education, linguistics, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. The course demonstrates how, for example, applied linguists employ research findings from linguistics, education and psychology to develop second language teaching methodologies and to implement successful literacy programs; how they employ sociolinguistic and pragmatic knowledge in the elucidation of misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication; how they draw on findings from discourse analysis and pragmatics to clarify written and spoken communication in professional settings such as hospitals and law courts; how they use their knowledge of phonetics and phonology to solve problems in speech therapy; and how they draw on the many contributing fields to address major societal issues such as language planning. Through these and other examples, the course explains how applied linguists employ the theories and tools of formal linguistics, education, psychology, and sociolinguistics in a wide variety of socially useful ways.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Pedagogical Structure (TSL220)

This is a comprehensive course on English phonetics. Starting from the detailed description of the articulatory system of human beings, students will study the accurate description of different types of speech sounds. We will focus on the speech sounds as spoken by the native speakers of English (which primarily include British and American English, though other dialects of English may be taken into account when necessary). Students will also be taught to transcribe English words accurately using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and to translate their transcription into English words. By the end of this course, students should know both English-to-IPA and IPA-to-English translation.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Development of Second Language Literacy (TSL230)

This course is especially designed to meet the needs of future middle/high-school English teachers and places an emphasis on effective techniques for instruction of the English language. It will acquaint students with the main facts of the pedagogical structure of English pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. It will also cover how to teach and test grammar and how not to teach grammar, including usage problems associated with contemporary grammar issues. Students will be introduced to fundamental issues underlying errors of grammatical usage. As each topic is considered, insights from linguistics that have important implications for teaching (such as preferred teaching methods and theories) will be introduced.

Credit Hours :
3

Teaching Adult Learners-TA (TSL240)

In addition to providing students with a basic theoretical knowledge of the processes involved in reading, the course addresses two problems which affect second language learners of English throughout Asia. The first is that second language literacy has not developed sufficiently in many countries because vocabulary is not taught systematically in schools. The second obstacle to the development of second language literacy is that very few students have the habit of reading for pleasure. The course describes these problems and their consequences, and it proposes solutions which young teachers could begin to implement in schools.

Credit Hours :
3

Secondary Language Acquisition & Teaching (TSL321)

This course is a thematic application, and it focuses on the unique attributes of adult language education contexts. The course will train students to develop practical materials and methods to enhance their ability to conduct useful and relevant lessons with adult learners. By the end of the course students will have gained knowledge of the main issues surrounding adult language education and the ability to plan and conduct an effective language class with adult language learners.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Teaching Eng for (ESP) (TSL331)

This course introduces students to the basic issues and concepts involved in the study of second language acquisition (SLA), the study of the way in which people learn a language other than their first language (L1) and the multiple internal and external factors that affect it. It is designed to make the essentials of this rapidly expanding area accessible to students. The course is demanding, partly because it sometimes challenges students' experience and established practice, and partly because it introduces a large number of new terms, concepts, and issues. However, the course provides a valuable background for much of what students study in the Applied Linguistics/TESOL Programme.

Credit Hours :
3

Language Testing-TA- (TSL351)

This course aims to expose students to the task of teaching English for specific purposes (ESP), i.e., English to students in various professional fields and areas of knowledge, and to its methods and techniques of teaching. Students are introduced to (1) ESP as a new branch of ELT, (2) course design and what it involves (determining learners' needs, knowledge of models of language learning, knowledge of ways of describing language structure, and knowledge of the different approaches to course design), (3) ways of using/applying the basic principles of course design (writing a syllabus, designing materials and teaching methods, evaluating teaching materials, and assessing students' learning). Finally, students will be encoraged to reflect on the role of the ESP teacher and the possible resources available to him/her.

Credit Hours :
3

Discourse Analysis (TSL360)

This is an introductory course in language testing which aims at introducing students to the basics of language assessment. The first section of the course focuses on basic terminology in language testing, such as reliability, validity, washback, and stages of test development. The second section addresses the issues of testing different language skills and features including assessment of reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary. The final part of the course deals with issues related to assessing young children, alternative methods of assessment, using technology in language testing, and ethics in assessment. During the course, students will be given the opportunity to write and moderate test items

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Practicum: Continuing Professional Development-TA (TSL421)

This course aims to expose students to the task of teaching English for specific purposes (ESP), i.e., English to students in various professional fields and areas of knowledge, and to its methods and techniques of teaching. Students are introduced to (1) ESP as a new branch of ELT, (2) to course design and what it involves (determining learners? needs, knowledge of models of language learning, knowledge of ways of describing language structure, and knowledge of the different approaches to course design), (3) to ways of using/applying the basic principles of course design (writing a syllabus, designing materials and teaching methods, evaluating teaching materials, and assessing students? learning), and finally (4), students will be brought to reflect on the role of the ESP teacher and the possible resources available to him/her.

Credit Hours :
3

Skills & Strategies (TSL431)

This course will facilitate students' integration into the professional field of TESOL. Students will learn how they can continue to develop their teaching skills once they have graduated and entered the field. Students will be required to join TESOL Arabia, the professional association for English language teachers in the Arabian Gulf. They must also attend CTELT, TESOL Arabia, ARC or other conferences. They must also participate in various TESOL Arabia events as well as professional development opportunities for teachers that are offered by other organizations at various times outside the classroom.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Second Language Methodology (TSL442)

This course helps students develop a repertoire of teaching competencies that could be used in a language classroom. More specifically, the class activities place emphasis on the development of skills, strategies, and techniques in an EFL context. The course follows a how-to-do-it approach since students will find tips and examples on how to carry out different skills. Examples include how to present new vocabulary, how to teach grammar, how to plan a language lesson, how to manage classes etc. The course is mainly divided into two main sections. The first section provides a theoretical background and addresses specific skills and strategies in a language classroom. As for the second part, it touches on global aspects of the teaching process including planning and management, materials and aids, and professional development. Students are encouraged to participate in class discussions, which is an important component of this course.

Credit Hours :
3

Prerequisites

Practicum / Internship (TSL451)

This course examines approaches and methods in second-language teaching, including current and historical methodologies. There is a focus on conceptual frameworks for skills-based teaching and learner-centered approaches. Students become familiar with the pedagogical techniques employed in different language teaching methodologies. They will also evaluate the principles and the techniques of methods they have studied.